Sadiq Khan demands licensing powers to clamp down on short-term lets

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is demanding that he be handed powers to tackle London’s rented home supply which is being ‘decimated’ by short-term lets.

Fuelled by the likes of Airbnb, the capital has seen an explosion in short-term lets in recent years.

Figures show that there were 81,272 properties on the Airbnb platform this month for rent – of which 50,401 were entire homes.

The mayor says that one in every 74 London homes is now up for short-term let.

‘Lack of regulation in the short-term letting market’

Mr Khan said: “I am doing all I can to tackle the housing crisis in London, but these efforts will continue to be hampered by the lack of regulation in the short-term letting market.

“Short-term lets play an important role in London’s tourism industry, but that mustn’t come at the expense of Londoners who need a place to live.

“We need transparency about how many properties are being rented out for longer than the rules permit, and accountability to local authorities and residents.”

He added: “This is why I’m calling on the Government to work with me and borough councils to design a licencing system to bring some order to this rapidly growing sector and prevent us losing yet more homes for Londoners to the short-term let sector.”

Enable local authorities to restrict short-term let numbers

Mr Khan believes that the implementation of a licensing system for short-term lets would enable local authorities to restrict short-term let numbers by issuing licenses in their area.

This would ‘avoid entire streets or blocks being turned over exclusively to short-term lets’.

The mayor points to one Westminster residential block in Westminster which has more than 90% of its 118 units available on short-term letting platforms.

And while homeowners are entitled to rent out their homes for up to 90 days a year, the mayor believes that many property owners are breaching this restriction – and boroughs do not have the resources to monitor compliance.

Licensing system would create a ‘financial reward’

Mr Khan also highlights that a licensing system would create a ‘financial reward’ for councils who have seen budgets slashed in recent years.

The mayor is now urging Government Ministers to back his call for new legislation that would compel short-term letting platforms to share data with local and national government.

This would allow decision makers to better understand how the sector is impacting the housing supply and residents.

If implemented, a short-term letting licensing scheme would be following in the footsteps of Barcelona, Amsterdam and Paris.

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